Ethan and MammTwo of Tarnos : Tempers, Tantrums, and Triumph

Ethan and MammTwo of Tarnos 

A new branch of the powerful family is founded and flourishes amid fury and fighting.

From Mamm of Perth:

...   Just as she’s winding herself up into producing a full-fledged tantrum including shrieking, kicking heels and flailing arms, she catches a glimpse of a booted foot near her face.

     ‘Great. Just what I need. Who has come now to observe my misery?’

     And so her eyes travel up and she has to turn herself over to finish trailing her eyes on up to what she already knows is a face she most assuredly does not want to see right this minute.

     Sure enough.

     There stands Ethan.

     ‘Go away.’

     ‘No.’

     ‘Go AWAY!’

     ‘No.’

     ‘Are you out of your mind? Go away and leave me to grovel in solitude!’

     ‘No.’

     ‘Oh Mother! Did we not just have this conversation?’

     ‘Did you call me, daughter?’

     It is Mamm of Perth and she is not bothering to hide her smile.

     ‘No.’

     ‘No?’

     ‘No. I called on the Holy Mother, not you. Go away.’

     ‘No.’

     And MammTwo can’t quite keep the glint of mirth from her green eyes as she sits up and reaches for the hands of her mother and of Ethan to pull her to her feet.

     ‘When did you get here? And have you a solution to our problem?’

     ‘We only just arrived, and only the two of you can find a solution to your problem. The good news is that you now have plenty of time, or will have as soon as you speak to Iona and Tara, who wait inside for you to grace them with your delightful and charming company. They have saved you many days of travel. The least you can do is thank them for their consideration.’

     And so the messages are taken from the under-bed chest and MammTwo turns her mind from the affairs of this world and from affairs that are not of this world to the affairs of her heart.

     Angry and irritated though she may be with Ethan, she can’t exactly deny that she finds him fascinating.    ...

From Mamm of Perth:

...   ‘Sell me the red!’

     ‘No. Marry me.’

     ‘No.’

     Face to face now the battle is waning.

     Bright green eyes stare into deep dark ones and a flurry of green and black sparks flit around about their heads, unseen by them but noticed by Danann and Mamm of Perth who grin at one another in delight, although their daughter is supposedly engaged in battle before their eyes.

     ‘Marry me and the red shall be yours.’

     ‘The red belongs to Ordha already.’

     ‘I belong to you already. Say to me one yes and I will never again tell you no.’

     MammTwo seems to increase her struggle but she is really maneuvering to close the gap between them, and she kisses Ethan full on the mouth.

     Ethan lets loose her hands and goes to embrace her.

     MammTwo dances away from him and stands with her hands on her hips.

     ‘Yes!’    ...

From Mamm of Tarnos:  

MammTwo and Ethan have produced an extraordinary daughter, 

LittleMamm ... 

...   Here are many, from all of Albann, from all of Eire, in obedience to the Voices of the Bells, to the Call of the Horns that have led them to this place at this time. Among them are some who are familiar to us.

     Here is Danann of Perth.

     Here is Mamm of Perth.

     Here is Marra of Dunnottar.

     Here is Forr of Perth.

     Here is Alianora of Perth.

     Here is Ethan of Tarnos.

     Here is MammTwo of Tarnos.

     Here are Sass and Saille of Dunnottar.

     Here is TallUllin of Iona.

     Here are Samm and Sarr of Iona.

     Here, from beneath the capacious cloak of TallUllin, is LittleMamm of Iona.

     WHAT!

     I tell you true.

     Here is how it happened.

     LittleMamm hears the Voices of the Bells; she hears the Call of the Horns.

     Knowing she will be forbidden by all, she goes directly to TallUllin himself and tells him flat out that she has heard and that she cannot be left behind.

     There is no time to argue.

     TallUllin scoops her up, hides her under his cloak, and prays for the best.

     ‘Mother, You had better be right about this, or my goose is surely cooked.’

     At the approach to the Wall, out pops LittleMamm but there is no time for anyone to take her to task about it, so she rides in the fore with TallUllin and adds her child Voice to his, and to those of all.

...

     From the Wall, after the battle, our people take themselves to Perth and TallUllin of Iona goes with them. Here they rest and here MammTwo of Tarnos confronts her wayward daughter, and Samm and Sarr and TallUllin while she’s at it.

     ‘I thought I could trust you! Do you realize what danger there was, taking LittleMamm into that battle? She could have been wounded! She could have been killed! Have you all lost your minds? How dare you, young lady, disobey your parents and risk so much? Well? Are you going to answer me or just stand there with your mouth gaping like a dying fish? And as for you, what kind of guards are you to let her slip away from you, to let her disobey like this? Have you no common sense at all? This youngling has neither the years nor the training to be anywhere near such a battle! And YOU! TallUllin of Iona. Of all the people in the wide world you are one I thought I could trust with the safety of my daughter. And what do you? You sneak her into battle! Well, have none of you anything to say? I thought not. You have no defense.’

     And MammTwo of Tarnos ends her tirade by bursting into tears and throwing herself into the arms of Ethan where her weeping and wailing is worse than the tirade had been.

     Since it appears unlikely that the noise will soon abate, the whole kit and caboodle of them go outside, leaving the storm for Ethan to calm as best he can.      ...

From Mamm of Dunnottar:  

MammTwo and Ethan have raised their grandson LittleEthan as their heir, knowing their daughter has been Called by Destiny to a far-away land. 

...   LittleEthan, TallUllin, and Ethan of Tarnos put their heads together, deep in details and last minute refinements.

But the two older men have something to tell LittleEthan and they know he isn’t going to want to hear it. Hear it he must, however, and hear it he does.

Ethan of Tarnos clears his throat and stiffens both his resolve and his spine.

The young man sitting before him has been son to him. From the day of his birthing, here in this very house, LittleEthan has been, although a grandling, the son of Ethan of Tarnos.

MammTwo and Ethan have themselves trained him from birth in the ways of their people, in the Memories of their Kind, and in the traditions of their Faith and their Family. He has been a more than able student and his hand strong in the administration of the estate. He is well-trained indeed, and takes well to the authority which is his by birthright.

Ethan gives a desperate glance to TallUllin, wanting the strength of this his dear friend at just this time.

A returned look, steady and filled with reassurance and compassion, eases the spirit of Ethan of Tarnos as he steels himself to say the words that will rend the guts of this the son of his daughter.

‘Ahem,’ he clears his throat again and pauses before continuing.   ...

Tumultuous as their relationship is, Ethan and MammTwo 

are a true love-match. 


They can no more stop themselves from falling in love than can

their horses, the majestic golden mare Ordha and the 

temperamental tall red stallion, called  Rogue for good reasons.

Some force larger than they has thrown them together and it is 

from their lineage that the leaders of Nations rise.